This disclosure relates generally to the field of network topology determination.
Computer networks are complex systems that may be difficult to manage and operate. The deployed topology layout and routing regimes may not be fully understood. A network administrator may examine the network configuration at network nodes, such as routers or switches; however, verification of the deployed configuration is not easy, as a network administrator may not necessarily have access to the network configuration information needed to fully understand the topology layout and routing regime.
Sniffing of Open Shortest Path First/Border Gateway Protocol (OSPF/BGP) routing information is one solution that may be used to determine network topology. A drawback of this approach is that sniffing is costly, laborious, and may require special permissions. Another solution is accessing configurations via Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), however, credentials may be required, and routers must be known.
There exists a need in the art for a method for determination of network topology using traffic records comprising flow-based traffic information.